Youth Devotional - Underdogs

Youth Devotional -
Underdogs
Are the giants too big or is your
God too small?
www.CreativeYouthIdeas.com

1 Samuel 17:45-47 ‘David said to the Philistine, “You come against me
with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of
the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have
defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you
down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the
Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the
whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered
here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for
the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

When you think of underdogs one can’t help but think of sports.
Their are so many stories in the sports world of teams who were
told they never have a chance of winning and yet they went on to
beat the odds and end up shocking the world. I’m sure I could list
tons of teams who were told they never had a chance, or why
even show up? but as they say in the sports world “that’s why they
play the game”

Now to be called an underdog you have to meet certain criteria,
you have to lack more skill than your opponent, you have to be
weaker, or you have to make less money than your opponent.
Payroll seems to be everything in the sports world these days so
if your team doesn’t have a high payroll or enough star talent and
you some how walk into the playoffs then you might be an
underdog. If one of your star players is injured and can’t make
the big game you could be an underdog. If you don’t have home
field advantage and a first round bye that could make you an
underdog too.

With so many possibilities out there any team could be an underdog
on any given day. So why do we make such a fuss when it comes to
underdogs? Why do we find them so hard to not route for?
Probably because we love to hear stories of people or teams who
beat the odds when everything was stacked against them. We like
knowing that some times the little guy can come out on top in the
end.

We all have experienced moments when it seemed like their was
no use in trying, when we felt like we should just cut our loses and
run. But underdogs never give up, they never throw in the towel,
they always have hope leading them on. I mean that’s what being
an underdog is all about isn’t it? It’s about having hope even when
everyone else has given up all hope. It’s about believing in yourself
and God when everyone else chooses to throw in the towel.

Take David for instance. Here’s a guy who by the worlds
standards never had a chance when he went up against
Goliath. I mean Goliath was huge, he was over 9 feet tall. His
armor and his helmet alone weighed about 125 pounds.
That’s probably more than what David weighed soaked and
wet. The shaft of Goliath’s mighty spear weighed another 15
pounds. This is crazy! Who in their right mind would even
want to take a shot at this giant Philistine

Goliath would come out every day for 40 days
and shout at the Israelites mocking them and
how did they respond? verse 11 says Saul and all
the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. They
wanted nothing to do with this giant.

Luckily for the Israelites David enters the scene. David was
a man who feared know one, except God that is. He knew
that it was God who determined the victor not man. It’s
hard to believe that of all the people who would dare to
stand up against the giant it would be a lowly
inexperienced shepherd boy. I mean other than protecting
some sheep in the field from wild animals his resume was
pretty small. It’s not like he had a long list of past
experiences he could fall back on. Yet he got the job to
take on this Philistine.

The king offered David his best armor but David was so young
and small that he could hardly move with it on. Instead he
decided he was going to take on this giant with God as his
shield and protector. He didn’t need any armor because God
was going to fight for him, God was going to give him the
victory. I love his words in verse 47 All those gathered here will
know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for
the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our
hands.”

If only we could have as much faith as David did when we
face our giants. If only we believed that God could help us
overcome any obstacle like David. We know what God has
done in the past, we’ve seen what he can do in the present,
why do we doubt what he can do in the future. He’s the
same God yesterday, today and always.

The problem is that we are not the same as we were
yesterday, today, and always. We allow our faith to
falter, we get out of step and out of touch with God
and we like the Israelites get scared when the giants
come on the scene. The giants only look big when we
allow our God to become a small part in our lives.
When you’re not giving God the time he deserves then
be sure that even the smallest of giants can look
GIGANTIC.

1 Samuel 17:46 This day the LORD will hand you over
to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.
Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to
the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and
the whole world will know that there is a God in
Israel.

Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible
Study Series with an Olympic Theme?
What is salvation all about? What does it
mean to be saved? This sports themed
Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the
Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of
sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle),
purity (white background), spiritual growth
(green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and
(Baptism) blue circle.
Creative Youth Ideas
Go for the Gold
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”
www.creativeyouthideas.com/goforthegold.html

Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series
on ”Running the Christian Race”?
The race as a metaphor for the Christian
life is used in several places in the Bible.
This series is a great follow up for new
Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of
our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This
Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a
sports theme and is great for athletes as
well as a tie in to the youth Olympic
Games.
Creative Youth Ideas
Destined to Win
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”
www.creativeyouthideas.com/destinedtowin.html

Youth Devotional - Underdogs

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